Window sash construction



Jan. 5, 1932. J, w, SMITH v 1,839,353

WINDOW SASH CONSTRUCTION I' Filed Feb. 26, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l b a "sv U s! I// i] 25 V2 Lav Z0 Frau a" YF ZZ "wrm-M ll z FILM* z/ 2z //Q y w26 ATTORNEY jan. 5, 1932. J. w SMH-H 1,839,353

WINDOW SASH CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 26, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN EY 1H au Patented Jan. 5, 1932 para Ai/ins w. sMrT-H, oFfcLnvnnAND, oiiio STA Es rasees?.

EJVNIDVOW'V SASH CONSTRUCTION Appiicaton sied February saliese. semina. 342,919.

My invention is an improvement in sash balances and relatesmore particularly to a device for counterbalancing the weight of a sash wherein the ordinaryl sash kbalancing weight and hollow amb may with.

be dispensed One of the objects of 'my invention is'to dispense with the customary sa hollow jamb construction ance the sash by means or sh weight and and to `counterbalv springs capable of being 'placed under tensionrwhe'nthe sashis moved in its casing.

Another object of my invention is to'effectively weatherstrip' a for of the type herein describe invention is to pro- Another Vobiect of my sash and casing therevide a sash balance capable ofbeing placed under tension when the sash is casing and cooperating moved in the with suitable means,

whereby air currents and moisture will 'be prevented from passing between the sash and the casing from one other.

side of the sash to the Another object of my invention is to simplify the sash and casing constructionwhereby the counterbalancing means may easily be removed 4from the sash or Vcasing for reair. Y

@ther objects and advantages ofv my invention will become more apparent as the follow.-

ing description of several embodiments therefor progresses, accompanying drawings in wh Y ence characters are employed like parts throughout the same.

In the drawingsreference being made to the ich like referto designate Fig. 1 is a front elevation ofl one side of a sash and casing partly brokenv awayv to illustrate oneembodiinentrof my invention. f

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a sash taken on line 2-2'of Fig.

pinion engaging Fig. 1.

portion of the 3 showing the the weatherstrip. l Fig. 3 is a section'taken on line 8--3 of Fig. e is a detail view of the rear shaft bearing assembly and supporting means for the rear endrof the shaft.

5 is an end view of a mo ymy invention.` p

aisee fom or lindii'cate-d'by the line T4-'Tof Fig.n 5.` 'Y

. ingfor the spring shaft.

4ig. 9 i

form of my invention,

Y Fig.v 6 is a sectional `view takenfon a plane indica-ted by the line 6-6 of Figj5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view take on la plane Fig. 8 is a detailed view of the rear bear- 55 s a cross sectional viewof the bear- Y ing taken on a planeyindica-ted vbythe line yU-shaped weatherstripy' 5 havin'gjflanges' turned 'outwardly to engage the casing and to be secured'thereto by means of thefasteners 7.2 It will be'noted that theY body ofthe U-shaped weatherstrip' 5 extends intothe groove inthe sash to Veffectively prevent the passage of air currents and moisture between the sash and the casing from one sidelof Vthe A, sash to they other. One side of thev Ushaped 75 member adjacent one of the flanges 6 is provided with a series of aligned perforations 8 which'are engageableby the teeth 9,".of a spur gear 10. 1 Y 1 f A tubular shaftA 1 1 is rotatably fitted inl a bore 12 in the sash as, shown in Fig.V l, the

forwardfend of the shaft having fitted into its `end a stub shaft 18 which extendsV forwardly through an opening in the `bearing plate 14, andis rotatably supported'therein. 35 The gear 10 is secured on the outer end ofthe shaft 13 and is spaced from the bearing plate b' meansof a spacing washer 15. nlt'will be noted that the bearing plate 14 and the 'gear 1() are set into the sash rail 3 behind the outer 90 edge of the sash rail 3. rlhe stub shaft 13 is telescoped'w'itliin the tubular shaftll and they are'securedin such position means cfa cotter pin 16'. l. have provided a duct or groove 17 in the stub shaft which` communie 95 f y end of a sleeve 19 supported by a bolt or screw 2() in alignment with the shaft 11. I have provided a thrust bearing 21 for the shaft 11 which may be a ball bearing having bearing contact with the annular edge of the tubular shaft and with a transverse split or Cotter pin 22 passing through the sleeve 19.

By this means I have provided a thrust bearing for the shaft which permits the shaft to be freely and rotatably supported' at its rear end in the sash. A coil springj23 is anchored at its forward end in the looped end of the cotter pin 16 and at its rearward end in the looped end of the pin 22. This spring is supported axially on the shaft 11l and is of' suflicient convolutions so that it may be originally tensioned to counter-balance Ysubstantially the full weight ofthe sash.

Thus it will be seen that as the gear IOisrotated together with the shaft and the spring is placed under tension a thrust will be ex.- erted toward the right in Fig. 1 against. the ball bearing: 21, the bearing reducing to a minimum the friction which would' ordinarily be encountered by a thrust in thisy direction. p

In use this embodiment yof my invention operates as follows The spring 23 is originally tensioned to counterbalance substantially the full Weight ofthe sash, by rotating the gear 10 by means of a suitable tool, or by raising or lowering the sash in the casing before the same is permanently set therein.y VhentheV spring is wound by moving the sash in the,v casing, the gear may be held against accidental rotation in the opposite direction While the sash is removed andi replacedin the casingto further Wind'I up the spring. Vhen sufiicientftension lhas been applied to the spring the sashis re.-

'placed in the casing for use,` the teeth ofthe gear 10 operati-ng in the aligned perfo-rations of'thev Weatherstrip 5. Asfthe sash is raised the tension of the spring is decreased while in lowering the sash the spring tensionA is increased', the entire range of tension ofthe spring as originally tensioned being sui'licient toj counterbal'ance substantially the weight of the sash during its movement in the casing. The weatherstrip 5 not only providesI a. rack for the pinion 10,*but extends into4 the groove 4 of the sash sufficiently to effectively prevent the passage of air currents or moisture between the sash and the casing from one side of the sash to the other. It will be noted that the bearing 21 is supplied at all times with a lubricant by means of a wicl 18 inthe tubular shaft 11.

In Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive I have illustrated another embodiment of my invention which is similar in some respects to those described in- Figs. 1 to 4. In this embodiment the shaft 11 is rotatablysupported at itsfrea-r endin a sleeve 19 and is axially spacedY therefrom by the thrust ball bearing 21. -A roller 40 is keyed to the stub shaft 13, which extends through the plate 42 and is provided with a tire 41 preferably formed of rubber or other material giving adequate traction with a metallic surface.

The plate 42 is bent at its ends into a substantially lJ-shape as indicated at 43 for supporting anti-friction rollers 44 on the shafts 45, the rollers 44 being in alignment with the roller' 40 and beingsuliiciently spaced therefrom tol engage the body of the substantially U-shaped weatherstripping member Referring more particularly to Fig. 6, it willbe seen that the weatherstrip 5 is enga-geablie on one side by the anti-friction rollersA 44 and on, itsv other side by the tire of the traction roller 40. Consequently when the sash is. raised in the casing, the traction between the roller 40 and one side ofthe member 5 will be sufficientl to rotate the shaft 11 against the tension ofthe spring 23 throughout the limit of movement of the sash in the casing, while the rollers 44 serve to maintain Vthe Ulsh-aped member 5 in intimate contact. with the tire ony the roller 40. I have provided means for exerting a pressure on the shaft 13 in a direction toward the substantially YJ-shaped member 5, which will` also increase the traction between the roller 40 and the member 5. rlhis means is illustrated more clearly in F ig. 5 and consists of*V aspring 46' anchored at one end 47 in the plate.- 42, andy having its body portion bent about a pin 48.. An arm 49 of the spring extends from the pin and its forward end is curved about and: engages the shaft 13 between the roller 40 and the plate 42.

In each form of my invention illustrated and described herein it is desirable toprovide similar counterbalancing andy weatherstri'L ping means on each side of each sash, in which case the springs 2.3' carriedV by the shafts 11 in each' sash should be oppositely Wound. The use of counterbalancing means such as I have disclosed herein on each side of the sashwill insure ease of movement ofthe; sash inthe casing and will eliminate any tendency of the sash to stick, since substantially equal tensions are applied to the respective springs of each sash in any position of the sash in the casing.

It will also. be seen that I have provided a very effective weatherstripping for the sash and casing, which in certain of the embodiments described herein form a part of the eoun-terbalancing-means.

TVarious changes may be made in the details of construction: and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

l. TheV combina-tion withr a longitudinally grooved sash and a casing therefor, of a.- sash 4balance comprising' a substantially U-shaped strip slidable relative to the sash in the sash l groove, a spring within the sash and capable of being placed under tension, V*means for transmitting tension to and from the spring, said means being engageable with'said U- shaped strip outwardly extending longitudinal flanges on said U-shaped strip normal to the li-portion and lying against the surface of the window casing so as to substantially cover the portion thereof exposed to the sides of the sash. Y

2. The combination with a sash and a `cas' ing therefor, said sash having a longitudinal groove along each side spaced from the edges thereof, of a sash balance comprising a spring enclosed in the sash, normally under a tension to substantially counterbalance the full weight of the sash, weatherstrips carried by the casing and extending into the grooves in the sash and means engageable with the weatherstrips to vary the tension of the spring as the sash is moved in the casing whereby an effective weather seal and rack is formed.

8. The combination with a sash and a Casing therefor, said sash being provided with longitudinally extending grooves along its sides spaced from balance comprising a spring enclosed in the sash, normally under a tension to substantially counter-balance the full Weight ofthe sash, a weatherstrip carried by the casing and covering that part of the surface of the casing adjacent tothe sides of the sash, a portion of said weatherstrip being bent outwardly from the frame to form ribs extending into the grooves inthe sash, and means engageable with the weatherstrip to vary the tension of the spring as the sash is moved in the casing, said means including a shaft axially aligned with the spring and a gear on an end of the shaft, said weatherstrip having a series of perforations engageable by the teeth of the gear whereby the seal between the sash and casing is entirely enclosed and the frame and seal are protected.

Ll. rlhe combination with a sash anda casing therefor, said sash having longitudinal grooves along its sides spaced from the edges thereof, of a sash balance comprising a spring enclosed in the sash, normally under a tension to substantially counterbalance the full weight of t-he sash, a weatherstrip carried byy the casing and extending into the grooves in the sash, and means engageable with the weatherstrip to vary the tension of the spring as the sash is moved in the casing, said means including a shaft axially aligned with the spring and a roller on yone end of the shaft,

said roller being in intimate Contact with one side of said strip whereby the tension of the spring may be varied when the sash is moved in the casino'.

5. The combination with a sashand acasing therefor, said sash being groovedr along its sides, of a sash balance comprising a spring the edges thereof, of a sashy enclosed in the sash, normally under a tensaid roller being in intimate contact with one side of said strip whereby the tension of the spring may be varied when the sashis moved in the casing, and means engageable with the other side of the strip to increase the traction between the roller andthe strip.

6. The combination with a sash and a casing therefor, said sash having longitudinal grooves along its sides spaced from the edges thereof, of a sash balance comprising a spring enclosed in the sash, normally under a tension to substantially counterbalance the full weight of the sash, a weatherstrip carried by the casing and extending into the grooves in the sash, and means'engageable with the signature.V

`JAMES W. SMITH. 

